DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team pulled out a hard-fought 69-56 win over West Alabama (0-2) to close out play in the Bahama House Regional Crossover Challenge, Sunday at the ICI Center. The Eagles were perfect in the two-day tournament and are now 2-0 on the year.
"We are really proud of the effort today," ERAU Head Coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson said. "It was a very tough, physical game and we definitely got beaten on the boards. We shot the ball better the second half, though, and some players made some big plays down the stretch.
"There were a lot of teaching points from this game that we can learn from and get better. We have our third game coming up day after tomorrow, so we need a full team effort and everyone to be ready for another tough matchup."
For the second straight game
Sarah Jones paced the Eagle offense, scoring a game-high 19 points and six boards off the bench.
Nikki Tucker finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two assists, while
Lauren Ellenberger and
Sigrid Sandstrom added 11 points apiece. Ellenberger totaled a game-high six assists, while Sandstrom led all players with nine rebounds.
The Eagles got off to a slow start, which allowed the Tigers to take an early 4-0 lead. The Blue and Gold bounced back and scored seven unanswered points en route to a 15-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
ERAU held a five-point advantage at the 5:57 mark in the second period, but a three and a jumper by Jones made it 27-17 in favor of the home team and at the half, the Eagles still led by 10, 31-21.
The third quarter saw the Eagles widen the gap to 14 points (42-28), but Latangellia Walker scored six points in the last 3:19 and that output helped the Tigers cut the ERAU lead to eight points (46-38) at the end of the frame.
West Alabama carried its third-quarter momentum into fourth, and a 10-0 run that started with a Walker free throw with 51 seconds left in the third made it a one-point game (46-45) with 8:43 remaining in the contest. Once again, Jones was a difference-maker as her layup and three-pointer keyed a 19-3 run that put the Eagles up by 17 (65-48) with 1:46 left to play.
The Tigers made all three of their field goal attempts in the last minute of the game, but it was not enough to catch the Eagles who capped the win with a pair of Sandstrom free throws.
Walker led three Tiger players in double figures with 12 points, while Elaine Field and Chloe Culpepper added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Eagles play their first road game of the year at an unusual time on Tuesday when they travel to St. Augustine for an 11 a.m. tip against Flagler on the Saints' Education Day.
